Player

Comments

Profile

The Flowers (花儿乐队, Huār Yuè Duì), were a pop rock and mandopop boy band formed in Beijing in 1998. The group consisted of four members: Dà Zhāng Wěi (大张伟, born in 1983, lead vocals, guitar), Shí Xǐng Yŭ (石醒宇, born in 1983, guitar), Guō Yáng (郭阳, born in 1978,bass guitar), and Wáng Wén Bó (王文博, born in 1982, drums, percussion). They have since recorded and released six albums, the most recent on 29 September 2007.

Dubbed as "China's first famous adolescent band," The Flowers had barely blossomed into youth when they first appeared on the Chinese music scene in 1998. The band first began playing in local bars and smoky clubs around Beijing. Unable to hide their hunger for commercial success, the band were somewhat aloof from the scene and often derided in some quarters for their attitudes. The trio first signed on to a small Beijing-based Chinese indie label, New Bees Music in 1998. A year later, the band would release their debut album On the Other Side of Happiness which turned out to be a surprise hit as the accessible nature of songs like "Stillness", "Disillusion" and "School's Out" from the album made the band perfect for the music market they wished to conquer. The band were also somewhat credited for helping to give disaffected Chinese youths a resonant voice, as many teenagers were deeply affected by their songs and felt that the band's lyrics reflected their own life experiences. As a result, punk music in general became more widely known in China.

The Flowers became involved in a two-year long lawsuit with their first company, New Bees Music. The dispute almost brought the band to a premature end, but was eventually settled out of court. The Flowers marked the end of their purgatory by signing to EMI in 2001 and bringing in a fourth member , guitarist Shi Xing Yu (石醒宇, Shí Xǐng Yŭ). By this time, the band had become tired of the simple but effective music which had made them so popular. Like many other musicians, the band was looking to diversify its sound.